Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, and incontinence pads are designed to absorb and retain fluid discharges from the human body. It is desirable that such absorbent articles conform to the body of the wearer during use. An absorbent article with body-conforming structure can increase the effectiveness of the absorbent article by reducing the possibility that fluids such as menses or urine will leak past the perimeter of the absorbent article. Additionally, an absorbent article with body-conforming structure can also be more comfortable to wear as compared to similar absorbent articles without the body-conforming structure.
Maintaining an absorbent article, such as an incontinence pad, in the proper position relative to the body of the wearer is difficult because of the external forces that are exerted upon the absorbent article under dynamic conditions. These external forces may be a result of the attachment of the absorbent garment to the wearer's clothes or may be a result of body movement, in particular, thigh movement. In use, these forces may cause the absorbent article to pull away from the body or shift from the desired position.
Previous absorbent articles have attempted to introduce deformation regions or points in the article to localize the deformation and help conform the article to the body. While these attempts have had some success, there remains a need for fluid-absorbing absorbent articles with a structure adapted to intake fluid quickly, maintain a dry surface, distribute fluid effectively throughout the product, and conform to body contours during use.